The Last Bandoleros Talk Tejano, Country and City Slicker Influences

Chuck Wicks sits down with Derek James, Jerry Fuentes and Diego Navaira—three solo artists from San Antonio, Texas and New York that came together to be The Last Bandoleros.

Chuck loves their new single, “Where Do You Go,” and invited them to talk a little bit about how their music and their band came to be.

The Last Bandoleros have cooked up their own flavor of Tex-Mex music, blending sounds of hyper train beats, distorted guitars, Beatles-esque harmonies and blazing Tejano-influenced accordion solos. They are Chuck’s Subway Fresh Pick of the Week – check out their video for “Where Do You Go,” after the show!

Show Links

Show Quotes

  • “My producer comes in and he goes, ‘Listen, now, Diego, he’s got the longer hair. Now Derek, Derek’s gonna have the hat on. And then Jerry,’—you ready, Jerry?—‘Jerry’s the other one.’” Chuck Wicks quoting his producer’s comments before the interview
  • “Well, we can’t call ourselves ‘amazing,’ but we are three solo artists, yeah. And now we’re a band.” Diego Navaira
  • “My father was a Tejano musician. Emilio Navaira was his name. He was awesome. I’m very proud to say that, after he had fame and success with Tejano he was able to crossover to country [music], touring with George Strait and Alan Jackson.” Diego Navaira
  • “Through my father [Emilio] I was also influenced by country music.” Diego Navaira
  • “How did a New Yorker end up in a Tex-Mex country band? That’s a really good question!” Derek James
  • “You [Derek James] kind of resemble a little bit of Billy Crystal right now, with that hat and everything. God forbid—don’t take it off and put your headphones on. Jeez. Something’s going on. You’re hiding something under there!” Chuck Wicks

https://youtu.be/b8xAiAW7pe4

Chuck Wicks Off the Record, Ep. 19, 8 minutes

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